dead good

Skimming Stones  - Bob and Bernard living life, or what's left of it, to the full

Dead Good

 Malvern Theatres

****

“Got the wings of heaven on my shoes,

I’m a dancin’ man and I just can’t lose,

You know it’s alright, it’s okay,

I’ll live to see another day.”

The Bee Gees 

Vamos Theatre, in a co-production with Corn Exchange Newbury and a co-commission with London International Mime Festival, delivered their powerful performance of Dead Good to Malvern Theatres in this thought provoking masked production. Breaking down the emotional barriers we all build high to distract from thinking about the inevitable, we were left doing just that.

Taken on a death defying journey by Bob, Aron De Casmaker and Bernard, James Greaves, the audience piggybacks along the emotional racetrack where champagne corks flow and colostomy bags fill.

Bob and Bernard are thrown together in diagnosis then push the pedal to the metal in Bernard’s Bentley for one last trip to the seaside to feel the sand between their toes, skim a stone into the sea and get stuck on a deck chair. As they cause havoc at The Ritz, loved ones are left behind as these two friends form an unbreakable bond.

Nurse Marie, Angela Laverick, brings joy to her patients with a cuddle, tipple or a dance when needed and her compassion and sensitivity shines throughout in her important role working alongside Shefali, Joshua Patel, to provide the best care possible. Even a ‘selfie’ isn’t out of the question.

With lots of laughter and fun throughout, at the end when the lights are fading, you could have heard a pin drop as the audience struggled to control their composure and there wasn’t a dry eye left in the theatre.

The original music composed and arranged by Janie Armour follows the mood of the characters to the bitter end. Writer and director Rachael Savage has certainly achieved her goal with this celebration of life to get us all talking about death.

After the performance my friend and I did just that, we discussed all the people we have lost and the care provided for them at the end. My father-in-law was at John Taylor Hospice in Erdington until he passed and the care he received was second to none helping the family to know he was in safe hands.

The tour for Dead Good is in full flow so catch it tonight at The Bridge House Theatre at Warwick School, for tickets call 01926 776438 or visit www.vamostheatre.co.uk/shows/show/dead-good for more tour and booking details.

Emma Trimble

05-02-20 

Dead Good returns to the West Midlands at the Arena Theatre, Wolverhampton, 5-6 March.

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